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Heart rate sensor correction for wearables +4


InvenSense has introduced new functionality for auto-correction of heart rate monitoring from PPG sensors.  If you're thinking, big deal, everybody does heart rate monitoring these days, then this is potentially a bigger deal than you are imagining, because the devices currently out there don't do the job so well.  This is particularly true during periods of high activity, which kind of misses the target consumer, and for wrist worn devices.  The results are bad enough that Apple's Watch now eschews the task entirely in such circumstances, despite containing such a sensor. 

The thing is, the wrist is naturally the best place for a multifunction wearable.  While the extra motion makes things difficult for PPG sensors, it is excellent for self-charging and allows for best use of displays and microphones.  The question that remains here is how much this InvenSense technology helps, as the press release is fairly short on technical details.  Regardless, it's good to see the company continuing to innovate, and I do think we'll see this functionality getting tried out across a wide variety of products.  Once it's out there, we can assess the performance.  If the difference is dramatic, I think the consumer reaction will be too.